Railroad-crossing



Patented Sept. 27, 1887.

E. FONTAINE.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica.

EUGENE FONTAINE, OF WAGON WORKS, OHIO.

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,462, datedSeptember 27, 1897.

Application filed December 23, 1886. Serial No. 222,407.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE FONTAINE, of Vagon Works, in the county ofLucas and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvementsin'Railroad-Orossings; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in theconstruction of railway-crossings, as hereinafter described.

My improved railway-crossing belongs to that class in which shortrail-sections are pivotally placed at the intersections of the rails andprovided with operating mechanism for turning them simultaneously toform continuous rails for either one of the tracks.

In a previous application for a patent for a `crossing of this kind Ihave described an improved continuous rail-support for the crossing; andthe principal objects of the present invention are to further improvethe mechanical construction of such rail-support with a view tofacilitate its manufacture, and, further, to provide more effectualmeans for protecting the rotatable posts which carry the movablerail-sections, all as hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings which accompany this speciiication, Figure l is a planot' my improved crossing with the rails partly removed. Figs. 2, 3, andfi are vertical cross-sectionson lines a: i, IV Z, and T V,respectively. r

A are the rail-sections of the crossing, and A are the connectingrails.

B are four rotatable posts placed at the intersections of the rails, andsupporting the (No model.)

the desired shape previously to riveting them together 5 but theaugledron @,whicll forms the inner upper ilange of the girder, insteadof following the enlargements at the corners, is bent to form a shortconnection or tic between the ends of the straight sides of the curb.The angle-iron e may be arranged in the same way, or may be entirelyomitted at the corners. This improved construction of curb presents muchless difficulty in its manufacture and in its ready adaptation tocrossings of differentV angles. It is also more continuous than myprevious construction, wherein the curb was mainly composed of foursections differing for each angle of crossing. On the top plates, F, Iform a raised flange, H, around the aperture for the post, and inconnection with this flange I form a shoulder, J, on the post, all forthe purpose of protecting the bearing of the post against sand or otherobstructions becoming lodged therein, and for the further purpose ofpreventing the'post from getting wedged in tight between the ends of therails, which are now estopped from crowding it by the raised iiange H.

The post may be provided with a step se cured to the lower corner-plate,as shown in Fig. 2, or preferably as shown in Fig. 3. An aperture ispunched into the lower plate and provided with a raised flange, K,around it, and a shoulder, L, is formed on the lower end of the `post toform, in connection `with the flange K, a step for the post.

The ends of the rails of the crossing and the ends of theconnecting-rails are secured tothe corner top plates by means ofsuitable clips, M, which abut against the raised anges J on the topplates, and are mitered in the corners between the rails. The clipswhich connect the ends of the connecting-rails with the cornertop-plates I make of a length to project beyond the edge of the topplate, and underneath these projecting ends I secure, by additionalbolts, a plate, N, which abuts against the edge of the top plate. Bythese means I distribute the end-pressure of the rails caused by themotion of the train in passing over. A main connecting rod from theswitch-lever passes diagonally through the crossing and hascrank-conneotions with two of the posts, and these posts are in likemanner connected with the remaining two posts, so that all four postsmay be rotated simultaneously to register the movable rail-sections witheither one of the tracks.

It will be noticed in Figs. 2 and 3 that the raised flanges H of thecorner-plates F project above the foot of the clips M. This is done topermit the sand which may be thrown onto the rails to slide off in thecorners of the intersecting rails without any liability of lodging inthe joints underneath the posts.

The advantage of providing the rotatable posts with the shoulders I Land supporting them on the raised flanges H K of the top and bottomplates, F G, is that I'thereby obtain a certain amount of cushioning ofthe posts under the vertical pressure of the passing train, whichgreatly reduces the Wear on the posts under the severe strain to whichthey are'snbjeCted, and also reduces the disagreeable pounding noisewhich generally is produced in passing crossings.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In arailway-crossing whereinrotatable posts carrying railsections are placed at the intersectionsofthe rails, the combination, with a continuous rail-support in the formof a foursided curb provided with enlargements at the corners, ofcorner-plates supporting the ends of therails thereon, and havingcentral apertures for the rotatable posts, and raised flanges aroundsuch apertures, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-crossing wherein rotatable parts carrying rail-sectionsare placed at the intersections of the rails, the combination of acontinuous railsupport in the form of a foursided curb provided withenlargements at the corners, of corner-plates supporting the ends oftherails thereon, and having central apertures for the rotatable posts,ot' raised lian ges formed around such apertures, and of overhangingshoulders formed on the rotatable posts in connection With such anges,substantially as described.

3. In a railwaycrossing wherein rotatable posts carrying railsectionsare placed at the intersections of the rails, the combination of acontinuous rail-support in the form of a foursided curb, withenlargements at the corners, of top and bottom corner-plates securedthereto, of a step formed on each bottom plate and `a correspondingaperture in each top plate to support the rotatable posts, of a raisediiange around the apertures in the top plates, and of clips for securingthe rails independently of each other to the top corner-plates, with theclips and rails abutting against the raised flanges thereon,substantially as described.

4. In a railway crossing, a continuous Wrought-iron rail-support,consisting of a central Web and angle-irons riveted thereto to form topand bottom bearings, said rail-sup port being constructed in the form ofa foursided curb With enlargements at the corners', said enlargementshaving top and bottom plates riveted thereto to support the ends of therails, and the rotatable posts forming the intersections of the rails,substantially as described.

5. In a railway-crossing, the continuous rail-support D, made in theform of a foursided curb, having enlargements E at the corners, andconsisting of the central Web, a, and the angle-irons b c d e, with theangle-iron c forming atie across the corners of the web, substantiallyas described.

6. In arailWay-crossing, the combination of the continuous rail-supportD, having enlargements E at the corners, the top and bottomcorner-plates, F G, the rotatable posts B, the rails A A, the clips M,and the plates N, all arranged substantially as described.

7. The combination of the rotatable posts B at the intersections ot' thecrossing, the shoulders .I L, formed on said posts, and the top andbottom plates, F and G, having the raised iianges H K, all substantiallyas described.

EUGENE FONTAINE. Witnesses:

JoHN THoMPsoN, X. A. THoMPsoN.

